Join WHRO-FM 90.3 this Wednesday evening at 9:00 for an enthralling concert featuring the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro Eric Jacobsen.
Raymond Jones will open the night with "To Call the Rain," a work commissioned by the orchestra from Juhi Bansal. According to the Indian composer, this piece gets its title from a Hindustani tradition “of music that, when played with intention and inspiration, holds the capacity to invoke rain”. Bansal imagines “this ritual in orchestral sound… a melodic voice grows from gentle patter to downpour, as movement and flow, drops and ripples, and lush textures fill the space.”
Following this piece, we will travel to France for Mozart’s “Paris” Symphony, composed in 1778 when the genius was 22 years old and job hunting in Paris, hence the nickname. Today, it remains a perennial favorite and an esteemed part of Mozart's repertoire. With its commanding rhythm and vigorous energy from the outset, it is equally captivating in its slower, more serene sections.
The main event of the evening is Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” a monumental piece composed in 1935-36 with lyrics from the 11th to the 13th centuries. "Carmina Burana" is scored for multiple timpani and percussion, an extensive array of brass, woodwinds, and strings, two pianos, three soloists, and two choruses—one of adults and one of children. For this concert, we will feature the Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus, the Virginia Children’s Chorus, and soloists Jasmine Habersham (soprano), Brian Giebler (tenor), and Joshua Jeremiah (baritone).
Additionally, we will have more Mozart this Wednesday as the late Richmond-born maestro Paul Freeman, pianist Derek Han, and the Philharmonia Orchestra present the Piano Concerto No. 25 in C. The US Air Force Heritage of America Band will perform Percy Grainger’s ‘Lincolnshire Posey,’ and the William & Mary Early Music Ensemble will play the Trio Sonata in F by George Frederick Handel.
Tune in to 90.3 WHRO FM, or stream online, this Wednesday evening at 9:00 for A Local Touch: Music with a Virginia Connection.
